Utah Jazz: Jazz-Suns tilt is really a 'biggie' for both teams

PHOENIX — Denver and Dallas hover above, comfortably separated from Utah for now but perhaps within reach with a super-strong finish — one, say, unlike the one the Jazz had last season, when they lost seven of their last nine games.

Oklahoma City and Phoenix, and to a lesser degree San Antonio and Portland, hover below, though at least the Thunder and Suns remain within striking distance of coach Jerry Sloan's club.

Even with just 14 games to go in its regular season, including tonight's at Phoenix, where 44-24 Utah might end up in the final NBA Western Conference standings really still is anyone's best guess.

The Jazz could finish fourth, facing either Oklahoma City or Phoenix to start the playoffs. They could finish fifth, perhaps against one of those two. It could possibly be better. But it also could conceivably be worse.

All that's seemingly certain is that Oklahoma City, which visits Utah on April 6, and Phoenix are the two likeliest teams capable of catching the Jazz for fourth place in the West and winning home-court advantage in the first round of postseason play.

Not that the Jazz care to be consumed by details.

"We're gonna let y'all keep talking about it," power forward Carlos Boozer told reporters. "We're gonna just take it one game at a time."

Trite as that is, it's not a bad idea.

Through 68 games last season, the Jazz had just two fewer victories than they do now — yet, because of their late-season plummet, they wound up eighth in the West with a predictable first-round playoff exit after meeting up with the defending NBA champion and current conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers.

No wonder they don't want to peer too far down the road.

No wonder they don't care that eight of their final 14 games are on the road, just like Phoenix, or that just six of those 14 are against playoff-quality opponents.

No wonder they probably don't even know that while Oklahoma City has two more games left than they do, nine of those are against teams headed for postseason play.

"We don't want to slip up," Boozer said.

What they do want is more games and especially second halves like Wednesday's, when they blew away hapless Minnesota.

In the Jazz's 122-100 win over the Timberwolves, they set season highs for points in the paint (72), bench points (61) and points off turnovers (32).

They also tied their season highs for points in a half (70, in the second), fast-break points (28) and steals (15).

Encouraging, indeed, especially considering Utah lost twice to Minnesota and twice to struggling Sacramento earlier this season.

"At the beginning of the season, we let a few games get away from us that we shouldn't have," power forward Paul Millsap said. "But right now, we see the playoffs coming — so we've got to prepare for that."